


A Slip of the Tongue

by JouSenpai



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, I tried writing angst but it turned fluffy instead lol, Pearlshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21558499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JouSenpai/pseuds/JouSenpai
Summary: It's not uncommon for young trainers to have small arguments during their Pokemon journey. But what if one such incident poses a threat to an, otherwise, close friendship?
Relationships: Hikari | Dawn/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Kudos: 28





	A Slip of the Tongue

Another day, another one of Team Rocket’s shenanigans.

Their scheme got a bit out of hand this time with Pikachu and Ash’s other Pokemon being put in grave danger. It took some daredevil antics from the boy to finally save the day. His reckless action didn’t go too well with Dawn, his travelling companion.

“For God’s sake, Ash!” she scolded “You could have been seriously hurt! What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking about my Pokemon!” he snapped, not in a mood to be chided after a gruesome day “Mind your own business!”

She was taken aback by his tone. It was not the first time he reacted badly to her nagging but today, it felt like he was spitting poison.

“What a rude thing to say! I was just worried about you!”

“Not worried enough!” He barked “It’s like you want my Pokemon to die!”

“Pikapi!”

Pikachu called out his trainer. The rest of his Pokemon were also in shock. He had gone too far.

“Is that…” her blue eyes were beginning to get misty “is that what you think?”

“Hey, now!” Brock, the oldest and the most mature one of the trio, intervened “I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

She looked at Ash, who was hiding behind his hat.

“Jerk.”

The name-calling caused him to look up and was subjected to the sight of her bursting into tears.

“I’ve always treated your Pokemon as part of my family. How could you? How could you say that?”

Everyone present tried to calm her down; everyone except the one who made her cry.

She didn’t want to stay there any longer. She took off, running as fast as she could and leaving her team behind.

“Piplup!” Her partner tried to follow but was stopped by the breeder.

“Give her some space, Piplup. Besides,” He glanced at Ash who appeared to be in deep regret “there’s only one person who can make her feel better.”

* * *

“What are you still doing here?” Brock wasted no time confronting his long-time friend “Shouldn’t you be chasing after Dawn?”

“I have no right to face her. Not after what I said.”

“If you admit what you said was wrong, the right thing to do is apologise. That’s what is expected of a Pokemon Master.”

Ash sighed. Was he seriously using his dream against him? Nevertheless, he knew Brock was right. He always was.

He turned to his concerned Pokemon and smiled.

“I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

Ash scrambled across the forest until he found the person he sought, sitting under a Cheri Berry tree. There were no more tears but her eyes appeared dull.

“Dawn.” He called out; voice not too audible.

“Ash…”

She moved to the side as he allowed himself to sit beside her.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about what I said. That was insensitive of me. I know you love my Pokemon.”

“It’s fine.” She shook her head “After I had the time to think things through, I realised I should have also been a bit more considerate. You had a rough day and I was only making it worse. Not to mention,”

Her face flushed a bit with embarrassment, “it was kind of hypocritical of me to point out your recklessness. I would have done the same thing if my Pokemon were in danger.”

“Exactly!” He agreed maybe a little too much “It’s not like you haven’t jumped on top of one of Team Rocket’s machines!”

“No need to rub it in, Ash.”

Although, she couldn’t help but laugh. He was right, after all. There were times she was lucky she came out unscathed from Team Rocket’s questionable actions. That was another point of similarity between her and Ash. The only difference was he never called her out on it.

“I have a lot of growing up to do.” She sighed.

“Don’t worry.” He patted her on the back as if he was any better “You’ll get there.”

She scoffed.

“Suddenly, I wish I hadn’t said that out loud.”

He paid no heed to her statement and stood up,

“Anyway, we should head back. Brock and the Pokemon are probably really worried right now.”

She did the same and looked around her surroundings. It had gotten way too dark and she cursed herself for separating too far from the others; all due to a silly misunderstanding nevertheless.

“Ash,” she tugged his shirt “do you know the way back?”

“I-“ He wanted to keep a straight face and look confident but his face betrayed him “I-I’m sure we’d be alright if we just head towards the right!”

“Ash!” The girl panicked “Don’t tell me we’re lost!”

“Hey!” He retorted “You’re the one who ran off and ended up here in the first place!”

“But!” She tried to defend herself but was left with no argument “Who am I kidding? You’re right. I had been nothing but trouble today.”

Her eyes started to get wet once again but something prevented a breakdown- a light touch on her shoulder.

“No need to worry!” He gave her a smile “I’m sure we’ll get back to the others!”

“But how? What if something attacks us? We have no Pokemon!”

“You have me!”

She looked deep into his innocent eyes. Why? Why did that statement make her heart flutter? It was a simple reassurance; something that was so typical of her friend. There was no reason she should make a big deal out of it.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt his hand on hers.

“As long as we’re together, we’ll make it out of this forest!”

She was not aware what she was feeling at the moment but if there was one thing she was sure about, it was that she was willing to put her whole trust on this boy.

She tightened her grip on his hand and smiled back.

“Yeah.”

**Author's Note:**

> I received a prompt for some Pearlshipping angst and though, I admit, it's not really angsty, I think it does highlight the fact that they are quite young and well, silly arguments, are quite common at that age!
> 
> The inspiration for this so-called bickering came from that episode with Lyra where Ash injures himself and gets an earful from Dawn. Taking into account Ash's reaction there, I thought this fic is also not really outside the realm of possibility. But oh well, who knows :p
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


End file.
